Chapter 13: Harsh Reality
Nope no note
Hphphp
It was after Sirius finished his dinner and pudding, everyone silently came into the tent, well mostly. There were whispered conversations going on. Everyone wanted to know what Sirius was going to talk about. The murmuring stopped when he stood. He held up his hands for quiet.
"I know you are all curious about this meeting, so I'll get right to it. First, the worst news; the virus is airborne. We're all infected. If you die, you'll come back a zombie. I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you. The only thing you can do is try not to die." He didn't feel like softening it up for people. He wasn't Dumbledore. People needed to know.
Noise filled the tent. Everyone was talking, like anyone had answers. There were tears and hysteria, people were shouting to be heard. Sirius set off a bang and they all settled. There was still crying and some of the kids were still inconsolable. It took a few minutes for quiet.
"I apologize. I should have waited for the kids to go to bed, but they need to know to. If there are nightmares, we have a potion that will put you to sleep. Safely. No dreams. Only for a night or two. It is addictive. The healers will monitor it," Sirius said, feeling bad that he scared the kids.
"How do you know?" came the question from the back.
"Dr. Jenner of the CDC told me. He studied the virus from the start. He's seen it happen. People without marks getting up after they died. I don't think he was lying," Sirius answered. His eyes roaming around the room, gauging how they were taking the news.
"Are you absolutely sure?" another person asked, voicing the fear everyone was feeling.
"As sure as I can be," he said, holding up his hands to stop the questions. "That's all I know, I promise."
The murmuring went on for a good five minutes until Sirius whistled for quiet again.
"That was the worst news that I had. Now I have some good news. As long as you stay with inside these wards you will be safe. Everybody gets food. Everybody gets water. Everybody gets electricity. Everything you need. You can have as long as you work for it."
"What do you mean work for it?" Andrea asked, her voice a bit defiant.
"I mean work. There will be no slackers. Unless you are disabled or sick, you'll work," the dogman said, his voice firm. "You want electricity. You have to work for it. You want extra food, same. Water is free. I know most of you already know this, but there is a large group of new people and I want to make sure that they know it too." He looked directly at Lori, knowing she was a troublemaker.
"And if we don't," Lori asked, sniffing at the thought that they'd turn anyone out.
"Then you're gone," Harry said, tired of everyone questioning Sirius. "The rules were easy. Work, no violence. Easy."
"You would throw us out knowing that there are zombies out there and we could die," Jacqui said, fear predominate in her voice.
"In a hot minute," Mac said, voicing his opinion. "Anybody who doesn't want to work for a living, who isn't willing to pull their weight? They don't deserve to be kept safe."
"If you want your family and your friends or anybody in these wards that you care about to survive, then you have to work for it," Remus added, folding his arms over his chest. "This is war people. It's us against the zombies. Nobody is going to be there to hold your hand."
"That's cold, man." Daryl said, though he sounded like he did agree. He looked like he had grown up in a tough situation. So, he probably knew it was a kill or be killed era.
"That's life," Peggy said, having no sympathy for those that didn't want to work. Growing up on the streets meant you pulled your weight, or you were gone.
"Look," Sirius said, grabbing everyone's attention, "nobody is asking you to do more than anybody else is doing. Everybody gets fair work; everyone gets fair pay. This isn't a democracy. This is my land and I have the rules here and I'm the one who divvies out the food. I'm the one who gives out the electricity. Please, as long as you follow the rules, you'll have no problems." He really didn't want to fight with anyone, and those that he had brought with him understood what was happening and had his back. Still, he didn't want to come off as a hardass.
"Who's going to supervise us? How do we know you're going to stay fair?" Lori asked, still not sure what was happening, but willing to do what was needed for her son and unborn child.
"Dobby, Winky, Slam, Dunk, Kreature!" he called out. The five house elves popped in, scaring a good many people. "These are house elves. There are more than these five. These five are the ones who's going to be monitoring you. They are the ones who's going to decide how much you worked. They are the ones who is going to decide what your pay is. They cannot be bribed. They cannot be threatened. They cannot be told what to do by anybody except me and my family. If I find you threatening one of these house elves, or the ones you don't see, you will leave. The wards will kick you out." He put his arm over his chest, standing firm on his words.
"Well, I for one don't like it," someone grumped from the middle of the tent.
"Bye," all the runners said at the same time.
"Just like that, I don't like it and you kick me out just like that," the man asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"Yes, just like that," Sirius and Kingsley said, then Kingsley waved to Sirius to continue. "It is a kill or be kill world right now. I'm not saying that there are not good people left, but there are those that will take advantage of those good people." Knew that Death Eaters didn't hold the monopoly of evil people.
After that there was silence.
"Self Defense is a mandatory class. Everybody over the age of eleven must take it. Unless your disabled, or pregnant. Anybody under the age of eleven and above the age of four must take the run-and-hide class, which will be taught by these four," he said waving to the runners and Harry. "They were street kids; they know how to run and hide."
The four beamed unashamed. They were proud of being useful.
"The reason for this is you are not always going to be behind these wards," Sirius continued, smiling at the kids then turning back to the crowd. "Everybody is going to have to go out and do something to help supply the community. There are some of you who will be better at scrounging, then others who will just go out into the woods. There're farms that need to be cleared, and stores that needed the same. But everybody has to do this."
"Does that mean we have to fight the zombies?" Jim asked, looking like a good wind would blow him over.
"I'm not going to point you at a zombie and say go kill it. We will do our best to clear the area," Sirius said, hoping to relieve some tension. "However, there are going to be times zombies are going to outnumber us. I've been in the city and the number of zombies is in the thousands. We number in the hundreds. So, yes, when you leave these wards, there's a good chance you're going to have to fight the zombies."
"I'm not sure if I can," Jim said quietly.
"Then you better hope whoever is with you can," Sue snapped, only for Sirius to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Then learn to run and hide, but don't expect to be saved if you just sit there," he said, squeezing Sue's shoulder and then added. "We are going to have a new building soon. The CDC is going to be open to us at the end of the week. If you want to move there, the rules and wards will still be the same. I for one don't want to be cooped up in a building, so I will be staying here."
"Take your time and think about it. There might be some elderly who will be staying there. They will help educate and watch the children. Let us know where you want to go at the end of the week," Remus said, a smile on his lips.
"Dale," Sam said, nodding to the elder man, "I have your RV. Get with me tomorrow morning. and we'll set it up."
The man just nodded, glad to have it back.
"Before I end this meeting," Sirius said, "is there anything anybody needs that is not being addressed? We probably have it in storage or can pick up something in the city."
There was suddenly a large amount of noise as everybody started shouting out things they wanted.
Sirius tried to get their attention, and finally had to set off his wand. A loud bang filled the air. "I said what you need, not what you want. Wants will be addressed down the line. But if you need clothes, shoes or other necessities, then we will see what we have."
"Maybe you should make a list," Remus suggested, sitting back in his chair now that all the tense stuff was out of the way.
"Oh, one more thing, I'm sure you noticed a large number of animals in the camp. We need you to take them in. Unless you're allergic, you need to host one or two. Even if you are allergic, we have a potion for that. We really need you to comply with this. We will supply the food, and necessities, but we don't want them to go feral. Some loving and attention should prevent that. We're going to train up the dogs, and hope the cats keep the mice and rats down."
"Train them how?" someone asked, from the front of the tent.
"To sniff out Walkers," was the answer. "Or hunting," he added, thoughtfully, looking at Daryl, who nodded.
"Oh, so they can go on runs with us. Good call," the person said, nodding their head.
"Exactly," the smug Sirius said.
"How are you going to prevent puppies and kittens?" a woman asked nervously, like she wouldn't like the answer.
"Sam tweaked the wards," Harry said, patting Sam's back.
"Oh, so like the fertility wards," the woman said, nodding her head in acknowledgment.
"Correct," Sam said.
"We are going to need lumber eventually," Sirius said, adding one last thing. "If you know of where there's a stash, get with Mac here, and tell him. He might have you guide him, or have someone else guide him, so be prepared to do that."
There was mumbling of agreement on this one. Everyone knew someone who knew someone who had wood. They could go see if these people needed help or if the wood was now abandoned.
"Okay, get your list to Remus, the house elves will see if we have what you need. Good meeting everyone. Good night," Sirius said, closing the rather tense meeting.
As everyone was walking out, the regular crew, bar Jessi, stayed seated.
"Do you think they will listen?" Harry asked, picking up his cold tea, looking at it and setting it down. The cup suddenly had steam off it. "Thanks, Dobby," the teen called out and started drinking.
"Mostly. I'm sure there will be those that test the system. When they find out that we told the truth, then the others will pay attention," Sam said, picking at the crumbs of his dessert.
"Good, I mean, I don't want to see anyone booted, but you're right, it is a bad world right now," Harry said, nodding to Sirius.
"Well, I'm beat, that was far too tense for me. I'm hitting the hay," he said, putting words to action.
"Night," Peggy, Sue and Mike said, following Sirius out of the tent.
"I think I'll watch the stars for a while," he heard Harry say to Remus.
"I'll join you. It's not often I see the night sky so brilliant," the werewolf said, getting up and leaving with the teen.
The rest followed out but went their own way.
Tomorrow will show who listened and who didn't.